SYNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 17 AUG 2021

4 17 . August . 2021 SÍNT S IN @ COVID-19 Serviço de Comunicação e Imagem | tel: +351 21 842 61 10 | sci@ine.pt www.ine.pt pág. 16/20 A significant increase in the number of hours worked led to a decrease in the Labour Cost Index In the 2 nd quarter of 2021, year-on-year: • The Labour Cost Index (LCI), adjusted for working days, decreased by 2.4% (+7.1% in the previous quarter). This decrease was essentially explained by the increase in the number of hours actually worked per employee; • Wage costs per hour actually worked decreased by 4.7% (+7.8 in the previous quarter) and registered decreases in all sectors of activity, except in Construction , in which they increased; • Other costs, also per hour actually worked, increased by 7.2% (+4.4% in the previous quarter); only in the public sector there was a reduction. Contributing to the increase in other costs in the 2 nd quarter of 2021 was the increase in employer contributions due to the significant decrease in enterprises covered by the simplified layoff regime in the private sector of the economy. The evolution observed in the ICT also resulted from the combination of the following rates of change: • +7.3% in the average cost per employee; The increase in the average cost per employee was common to all economic activities; the smallest rate of change was registered in the public sector (2.5%); • +10.8% in the number of hours actually worked per worker; The increase in this component only did not occur in the Construction sector, which recorded a reduction, and was particularly high in public sector activities (13.3%). Labour Cost Index Working days adjusted data (year-on-year rate of change) -2.4% 7.3% 10.8% -15.0% -10.0% -5.0% 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 2nd Q 2016 2nd Q 2017 2nd Q 2018 2nd Q 2019 2nd Q 2020 2nd Q 2021 Total Average cost per employee Number of hours effectively worked per employee